Christian History Magazine on Oswald Chambers

The latest issue of Christian History Magazine is devoted to Oswald Chambers.

From the blurb:

‘My Utmost for His Highest is one of the most enduring and best-selling Christian devotionals of all time. It has been in print for a century, translated into 39 languages, and has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide. You have probably heard of it. But what do you know about Oswald Chambers, the devotional’s author?

‘In this issue of Christian History, meet the Scottish poet, artist, intellectual, and minister whose approachable and sincere faith allowed him to speak effectively to the spiritual challenges of the modern world. Oswald Chambers’s preaching and teaching took him all over the globe, even to the Egyptian warfront of World War I as a YMCA chaplain. You will also meet the woman behind My Utmost: Gertrude “Biddy” Chambers, Oswald’s wife and partner in ministry. This gifted stenographer, typist, administrator, and teacher preserved and presented her husband’s wisdom to audiences worldwide, launching a publishing empire and Oswald’s world-renowned devotional.

‘Discover the dynamic, faith-filled, and inspirational story of Oswald and Biddy Chambers– two believers who truly gave their utmost for His highest.’

The whole magazine is available as a 3.5 MB pdf here.

Foundations 87 (February 2025)

Issue 87 of Foundations: An International Journal of Evangelical Theology, published by Affinity, is now available from here (requiring an email address for a link to a downloadable pdf, though check here) which includes the below essays (abstracts posted where available).

Donald John MacLean

Editorial

Ian Shaw

Slavery, the Slave Trade and Christians’ Theology Part Two: Theological Themes

Stephen Steele

Garnishing the Sepulchres of the Righteous: Textual Criticism in the Free Church Fathers

The continued publication of the “Textus Receptus,” for example, a new edition by Grange Press, the publishing arm of the US Presbytery of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), provides the incentive to investigate the text-critical principles of the Free Church fathers. How did they view the Textus Receptus? Did they defend it in the face of new manuscript discoveries in their own century? The clear evidence is that they did not hold to a “Received Text” that was “fixed”, indeed, the leading figures among the Free Church Fathers explicitly disowned such a view. Advocates of the so-called “Textus Receptus” have a track record of claiming support from figures in church history who were far from claiming its perfection. Famously, the Anglican Dean John Burgon (1813-1888) would not be admitted to the Dean Burgon Society (founded in 1978). The society named after him exists “To Defend the Traditional Received Greek Text of the New Testament which underlies the King James Version.” Yet while believing the TR to be “quite good enough for all ordinary purposes”, Burgon was “far from pinning my faith to it”. “In not a few particulars”, he wrote “the ‘Textus receptus’ does call for Revision”.

Alison Umpleby

Review Article: She Needs

Nick Meader

Resurrection: Apologetics and Biblical Theology

Mark Roques and Steve Bishop

The ‘Christian’ Mysticism of Meister Eckhart and Terese of Ávila

In this article, we probe the so-called “Christian” mysticism of Meister Eckhart and Teresa of Ávila. We scrutinise the Orphic creation myth and Neoplatonism’s roots. We unpack how these two mystics would answer the six worldview questions. What is God like? What is the universe like? What is a person? Why do we suffer? What is the remedy? What happens after death? We conclude with a critique of “Christian” mysticism and show how it is both world-denying and auto-salvific. Neither option is Christian.

Book Reviews

Lausanne on Polycentric Christianity

As part of Lausanne’s Theological Foundation Paper series, the latest Occasional Paper, ‘Polycentric Christianity: Theological Multiplicity and Unity’, authored by Tite Tiénou, explores ‘how the global body of Christ can navigate theological diversity while remaining anchored in the mission of God. Drawing from voices across traditions and regions, this paper invites us to consider how different theological expressions contribute to a richer, more faithful witness. How can we hold both multiplicity and unity in balance as we engage in global mission?’

Kristi Mair on Dark Spiritual Encounters

Cambridge Papers are published once a quarter (or thereabouts) and address a wide range of topics, offering ‘Christian reflection on contemporary issues’.

The latest paper is available online here (from where a pdf can be downloaded here):

Krisztina Mair, ‘Dark Spiritual Encounters and Hidden Dangers: The Enduring Wisdom of Classical Theology’, Cambridge Papers (January 2025).

Here is the summary:

‘This paper seeks to provide a brief spiritual topography of contemporary dark spiritual practices, demonstrate an historical and theological expectation for encounters with evil, and provide an overview of the benefits of theological retrieval for the life of the Church and her witness. Three contemporary objections to Christian spirituality are considered and possible responses are provided.’

Stephen McAlpine on Being the Bad Guys

Every month, The Good Book Company make available digital versions of one of their books at no charge. This month (February 2025) it’s Being the Bad Guys: How to Live for Jesus in a World That Says You Shouldn’t, by Stephen McAlpine, which is available in exchange for an email address here.

Michael Bird et al. on Paul Within Judaism

Michael F. Bird, Ruben A. Bühner, Jörg Frey, and Brian Rosner (eds). Paul within Judaism: Perspectives on Paul and Jewish Identity (WUNT 507; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2023).

Thanks to a generous grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation, this book (typically very expensive) is freely available here.

The collection of essays is based on an online scholarly conference sponsored by the Australian College of Theology and hosted by Ridley College back in 2021.

According to the blurb:

‘This conference volume features cutting edge research from an international cohort of scholars on the still-controversial debates regarding Paul’s relationship with Judaism. Taken together, the contributions represent a sympathetic but critical assessment of the Paul within Judaism approach to Pauline interpretation. They take up many of the key questions germane to the debate, including different perspectives on Jewish identity, ethnicity, Torah-observance, halakha, the relationship between Jewish and non-Jewish followers of Christ, and the contested character of Jewish identity in antiquity. By combining a broad swath of both German- and English-language scholarship, the volume attempts to bring different perspectives into conversation with each other.’